It is seldom the case where a champion is defined by his actions after joining the League of Legends rather than before. Such is the case with Jax, for whom the argument could be made that he is the most prolific tournament fighter currently at the Institute of War. Before joining the League, Jax was an unremarkable soldier-for-hire. For reasons known only to the former leader of the League, High Councilor Reginald Ashram, Jax was put on the top of the list of candidates to receive a League Judgment - the interview process that either accepts or rejects a prospective champion. His Judgment was the quickest in League history, where the Doors of Acceptance glowed and slowly swung open as soon as it began. Jax faced no recorded Observation or Reflection during his Judgment.

Jax proved himself to be an immediate terror in the Fields of Justice. The self-proclaimed ''Armsmaster of the League'' rattled off a streak of consecutive wins that to this day has not been matched. A number of summoners in the League grew concerned that the perceived objectivity of the League of Legends would be questioned by the presence of an unknown fighter who was unbeatable. For this reason, the new leader of the League (following Reginald Ashram's disappearance) , High Councilor Heyward Relivash, created special restrictions for Jax to fight under. This was something the League had never done before, and something which has never been done since. The burly fighter responded by imposing his own special conditions; as a means of protest, he permitted himself to fight using only a brass lamppost. Neither the League's sanctions nor his own has affected his winning ways. The League has since rescinded its sanctions, but Jax has not; he fights and fights well with his trusty brass lamppost.


''Be advised - there has been an outbreak of lamppost-shaped bruises in the League of Legends.'' -- Gragas

Intro
Jax is beyond capable in his dps endevors. being a rather beefy dps champ, at 3151 health he can sustain a few blows while dishing out a lot more than the enemy can chew. This is the way I play Jax, and to be completely honest, would not want face off against anyone using this build. The damage output is just ridiculous. I currently do not have any recently played games with Jax but i will have screenshots up soon. So with that said, i shall move on to his pros and cons.

Pros

Great damage
one of the best passives
can leap strike to friendlies as well as enemies
best 1v1 champ in the game
aoe stun

Cons

gets focused
SotD can be a problem
rough early game
not really any escape mechanism(leapstrike sometimes)

Runes&Masteries
-runes
I use attack damage marks, magic resist glyphs, dodge seals, and movement speed quints. The attack damage runes not only make Jax's abilities more potent but also, due to his passive, give him additional health at level 1, aiding in his early game surviability.
-masteries
I go 9-21-0, picking up the 15% spell pen from Archaic knowledge from the offense tree. The reasons I choose defensive masteries: early game sustainability, focused often, evasion, veteran's scars, willpower, and ardor, tenacity is just a nice bonus.


Abilities

-Equipment Mastery - Jax's prowess with weapons and armor increase his fortitude as he gains equipment:
Jax gains 3 health per point of Attack Damage received from items.
Jax gains 2 health per point of Ability Power received from items.

-Leap Strike - Jax leaps toward a target. If it's an enemy, he smacks it in the face with his weapon, dealing bonus damage.
Jax leaps towards a target. If it's an enemy, he hits the enemy for 50/75/100/125/150 (+) (+0.7) magic damage. this ability has a long cooldown at lower levels so i tend to alternate between leapstrike and empower.
Cost65/65/65/65/65 ManaRange700

-Empower - Jax's charges his weapon with energy, causing his next attack to deal massive additional magic damage.
Jax charges his weapon with energy, causing his next attack to deal an additional 75/110/145/180/215 (+) (+0.4) magic damage. I max this ability first because of its low mana cost, low cooldown, and insange damage potential.(especially with the triforce sheen proc).. sheen doesnt use the empower to fuel the damage but it is all applied in the same melee attack.
Cost20/20/20/20/20 ManaRange300

-Counter Strike - Jax's prowess allows him to dodge enemy attacks frequently. After avoiding an attack Jax can quickly stun surrounding enemies.
-Passive: Increases Jax's dodge chance by 10/12/14/16/18%.
-Active: Jax stuns surrounding enemies for 1 second and deals 80/110/140/170/200 (+0.6) magic damage to them. one of the shortest stun coodowns in the game.
Usable only within 7 seconds of dodging an attack.
Cost60/60/60/60/60 ManaRange400

-Relentless Assault(what makes jax so great) - Jax's greatest talent lies in his ability to grow stronger with every attack. Each successive attack increases his attack speed temporarily, and every 3rd blow will devastate his target. Jax can activate this ability to gain temporary Magic Resistance based on his Dodge Chance.
-Passive: Jax's basic attacks increase his attack speed by 6/10/14% for 2.5 seconds (max 10 stacks). Every third consecutive attack deals 140/170/210 (+0.7) bonus magic damage.
-Active: Jax's speed allows him to reduce incoming magic damage. For 5/6.5/8 seconds his Magic Resistance is increased by 20/35/50 plus his Dodge percent totalling Magic Resistance.
Cost80/80/80 ManaRange100

ability tip#1- Early game Jax can do some serious damage with his "Empowered Leapstrike" this means use empower then before hitting anything leap strike on you oppenent(this applies your empower to you leapstrike. This combo, at level 2, can easily take a third of someones health.

ability tip#2- "Leapstrike stun" after your counter strike has proc'd leapstrike to an opponent and immediately use counter strike; this can be used during laning phase to harass, deliver a finishing blow, or deliver just enough damage for your ranged teammate to get that kill. This can be used during team fights to either stun their carry or possibly their whole team.

ability tip#3- spam empower this ability is great and many people forget to use it after the initial use.

Items

Ninja Tabi- only boots jax should ever get; adds to his dodge chance, which aids in his counter strikes chance to proc.

Triforce/Frozen Mallet- The Triforce is an item that benefits him not in one specific area, but as a whole. With a slow 1 out of every 4 hits, and on cast, makes your next attack deal 150% of you base attack damage. Combo this proc ability with empower and watch just how much damage your next attack will do. The Frozen Mallet give Jax more health and a constant slow but an overall lower damage output.

Hextech Gunblade- not only does this item give you 60 AD, 75AP, 20% lifesteal and 20% spell vamp, but it also gives Jax 330 health, a 300 damage mini nuke, and a secondary slow.

Madred's Bloodrazor- aside from this being one of the best dps items in the game, it also gives Jax health and more attack speed( which he doesnt necessarily need) but it helps, and is a great item none the less.

Gaurdian Angel(optional)- Revives your Champion upon death, restoring 750 Health and 375 Mana. This effect can only occur once every 5 minutes. This item makes Jax an even more formidible foe. Before.. people want to focus Jax because, lets face it, Jax kills ;). After Guardian Angel.. They still need to focus Jax, but they are more hesitant because Jax will be be revived and the rest of his team will kill them whwile their focus is elsewhere.

Void staff- great item that prevents mres stacking to stop jax's ridiculous amount of damage seeing as all of his abilities and every third attack deal magic damage.

Wits end- after its recent changes i feared i would never touch this item again.. but to my surprise it is great on jax. his main weakness before was taking a little to long to reach his full RA potential and casters nuking him down. This resolves both problems by adding as and mr.

This is Hargis2010 thank you and I hoped you enjoyed reading my guide. If anyone wants to play, comment and send me a friend request( screen names are the same).
Please comment and leave praise or constructive criticism.